A Theater for Royalty: Hampton Court Palace and the English Monarchy
Primary Faculty Mentor’s Name
Dr. Claire McCoy
Proposal Track
Student
Session Format
Paper Presentation
Abstract
The luxury and scandal; the pleasures and pains of royalty have continually constructed and reconstructed the turrets and pillars seen today at England’s Hampton Court Palace. In the sixteenth century, Henry VIII creates a playground of medieval chivalry; a theater where his costumed wives enter and exit the stage, each leaving their mark architecturally. The emblem of Anne Boleyn is entwined with the English roses on the Great Hall hammer-beam ceiling Henry commissions for her in 1533 – they are later to be removed when she is tragically convicted and beheaded. Kitchens grow, rooms are rearranged; and yet, as kings and queens come and go, the palace falls into periods of disuse and disrepair. Finally, after centuries of relative abandonment, the newly crowned William of Orange declares the medieval structure his royal retreat. Thus, in this presentation I am exploring the ontological notion of royal palaces through an analysis of Hampton Court Palace’s metamorphosis through the changing monarchs of ages passed. This structure represents both a personal and national reflection of English monarchs as individuals and, furthermore, English monarchy as an institution changing and unique from any in Europe. I focus on the two major stages of expansion and/or reconstruction: alterations during the reigns of Henry VIII in the sixteenth century and joint monarchs William III and Mary II in the early eighteenth. I emphasize analysis of the latter construction period under William and Mary as to show and argue that the qualities of palatial architecture are things that are both stable and flexible through the eras; that while the essential principles of a royal palace may remain the same overtime, they conform necessarily to contemporary needs. Therefore, examination of the earlier Tudor building is necessary to chart the transformation of architectural styles as it correlates to the foundational concepts of royalty and their respective structural monuments that nevertheless remain constant.
Keywords
Hampton Court Palace, England, Royalty, Architecture, Palace, Medieval, Neoclassical
Award Consideration
1
Location
Room 2905
Presentation Year
2014
Start Date
11-15-2014 1:45 PM
End Date
11-15-2014 2:45 PM
Publication Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Recommended Citation
Hinzman, Katherine M., "A Theater for Royalty: Hampton Court Palace and the English Monarchy" (2014). Georgia Undergraduate Research Conference (2014-2015). 87.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gurc/2014/2014/87
A Theater for Royalty: Hampton Court Palace and the English Monarchy
Room 2905
The luxury and scandal; the pleasures and pains of royalty have continually constructed and reconstructed the turrets and pillars seen today at England’s Hampton Court Palace. In the sixteenth century, Henry VIII creates a playground of medieval chivalry; a theater where his costumed wives enter and exit the stage, each leaving their mark architecturally. The emblem of Anne Boleyn is entwined with the English roses on the Great Hall hammer-beam ceiling Henry commissions for her in 1533 – they are later to be removed when she is tragically convicted and beheaded. Kitchens grow, rooms are rearranged; and yet, as kings and queens come and go, the palace falls into periods of disuse and disrepair. Finally, after centuries of relative abandonment, the newly crowned William of Orange declares the medieval structure his royal retreat. Thus, in this presentation I am exploring the ontological notion of royal palaces through an analysis of Hampton Court Palace’s metamorphosis through the changing monarchs of ages passed. This structure represents both a personal and national reflection of English monarchs as individuals and, furthermore, English monarchy as an institution changing and unique from any in Europe. I focus on the two major stages of expansion and/or reconstruction: alterations during the reigns of Henry VIII in the sixteenth century and joint monarchs William III and Mary II in the early eighteenth. I emphasize analysis of the latter construction period under William and Mary as to show and argue that the qualities of palatial architecture are things that are both stable and flexible through the eras; that while the essential principles of a royal palace may remain the same overtime, they conform necessarily to contemporary needs. Therefore, examination of the earlier Tudor building is necessary to chart the transformation of architectural styles as it correlates to the foundational concepts of royalty and their respective structural monuments that nevertheless remain constant.